Red Bull’s Max Verstappen
Former F1 driver turned pundit Martin Brundle wishes that Max Verstappen would treat his Red Bull team better to make sporting success the foundations of his “legacy”.
The Hungarian Grand Prix proved a frustrating race for Verstappen on several counts, not only due to his late collision with Lewis Hamilton as they battled for the final podium position, but also in regards to his dismay over Red Bull’s strategy.
Martin Brundle’s Max Verstappen ‘legacy’ warning
Undercut by Hamilton at the first round of pit stops, that marked the true escalation of Verstappen’s team radio tirade, which had started with his anger over being told to give back P2 to Lando Norris after the start and concluded with his reaction to that Hamilton shunt. By this point, his long-serving race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase had had enough.
With Verstappen having a great chance to clinch his fourth consecutive World Championship this season, Brundle hopes that he would show more kindness towards the Red Bull team and avoid tarnishing his “legacy”.
“Max furiously thought his team called him in much too late because he lost track position to Hamilton,” Brundle wrote in his Sky Sports column.
Max’s radio calls were filled with angst and beeping as he vented his frustrations towards his dedicated engineer and close friend, Gianpiero Lambiase, as well as the entire team who have played a pivotal role in securing all of his race victories and are on the verge of helping him achieve his fourth World Championship, likely in the near future.
I firmly believe that one cannot selectively choose the admirable qualities of world-class athletes, as their success is a result of a combination of characteristics. Although I greatly admire Max as both a skilled driver and an individual, I am disappointed with his treatment of the team.
“Although his sporting legacy should have been greater, we have discovered the concise two-word response, comprised of a mere seven letters, he would offer in reply to such a statement.”
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Brundle mentioned the response Verstappen made, which was his explicit message of “f*** off,” directed at anyone criticizing his behavior during the radio communication.
Verstappen responded bluntly, stating, “They can all go away.”
Naturally, I’m irritated, but I’ve experienced annoyance in the past. Sometimes, you voice your opinion over the radio, and that’s exactly what I did today. I hoped that by doing so, the second pit-stop would be a wiser decision.
However, that wasn’t the case. Personally, I don’t find it distracting while driving. Although it does annoy me, I quickly shift my attention back to the task at hand, which is, of course, controlling the car.
Verstappen ultimately finished P5 in Hungary as McLaren’s Lando Norris – the P2 finisher – reduced Verstappen’s Drivers’ Championship lead to 76 points.
Read next – Revealed: Every word exchanged between furious Max Verstappen and Gianpiero Lambiase
